Abstract
Contemporary pursuits in electronics include the miniaturization as well as flexibilization of devices. Although there are a large number of different thin and flexible electrochemical batteries, only a few can boast the possibility of working in high humidity conditions. This paper reports on the fabrication of structures consisting of films of silicon nanoparticles encased between two aluminium electrodes. The value of electromotive force (emf) measured depends on the temperature of the sample and on the pressure of water vapor in the storage atmosphere and reaches approximately 1 V. Volt-ampere characteristics were investigated at different conditions to yield a model of emf generation in these structures. It was found that the reaction of water with silicon nanoparticles is the prime reason behind emf generation. Such a source may be introduced into electronic paper, and employed in the next generation of smart cards. The structure may also be manufactured directly on the surface of silicon chips, such as on the back of crystals in microschemes.
Highlights
The rapid advances in technology for the fabrication of miniature electronic devices call for the development of sufficiently small sources and accumulators of energy.Micro-fuel cells and supercapacitors are the most viable options for this purpose [1,2,3].The use of an external oxidizing agent allows for a significant decrease in the size/weight of electrochemical cells; metal-air batteries (e.g., Zn-air, Li-air, Al-air) [4,5,6] offer a prospective solution in terms of creating autonomous energy sources
Among other representatives of the class, it is worth mentioning silicon-air (Si-air) batteries based on crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers [7,8,9,10]
The investigation of M/nc-Si/M structures was concerned with the use of nc-Si film as a
Summary
The rapid advances in technology for the fabrication of miniature electronic devices call for the development of sufficiently small sources and accumulators of energy (on-chip power sources). The use of an external oxidizing agent (air) allows for a significant decrease in the size/weight of electrochemical cells; metal-air batteries (e.g., Zn-air, Li-air, Al-air) [4,5,6] offer a prospective solution in terms of creating autonomous energy sources In these batteries, charge separation occurs via oxidation of the metal in contact with an electrolyte and reduction of oxygen entering the battery through a porous electrode. An essential component of a Si-air or a metal-air battery is an alkaline electrolyte or an ionic liquid containing fluorides (e.g., 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrofluoride), which enables charge transfer between electrodes These electrochemical cells have a considerable thickness (over 1 cm) and, cannot be considered flexible energy sources. Silicon nanoparticles produced via laser-induced silane pyrolysis [20] were used to obtain silicon
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